SINGAPORE: Detailed design starts on 737 Max 10

Boeing is on course to deliver the first 737 Max 10 in 2020 after the programme passed the milestone of firm configuration, clearing the way for detailed design to begin.

Boeing

The status update was announced at the Singapore air show by Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Achieving this milestone means that Boeing’s engineers now have all the design requirements for the largest 737 Max derivative.

“We now begin the detailed design to keep that airplane on track to make its first delivery in 2020,” says Tinseth.

The programme will now move into the detailed-design phase ahead of commencing production.

Meanwhile certification of the 737 Max 9 is imminent, says Tinseth, with deliveries due to begin in the coming weeks.

While the bulk of demand – 60-65% - for the 737 Max family will be for the mid-sized 737-8, Tinseth forecasts that 20-25% of sales will go to the larger 737-9 and -10 variants. The smallest model, the 737-7, will account for about 10%.

Launched at the Paris air show last year, the Max 10 is developed from the Max 9, incorporating a 1.68m (66in) stretch to increase seating to up to 230 passengers. It takes the CFM International Leap-1B powered 737 family into direct competition with the Airbus A321neo.

Boeing says the Max 10 has more than 416 orders and commitments from 18 customers. Total 737 Max orders stand at more than 4,300 from 92 customers.